A nearly 100 million yuan lawsuit has emerged at a critical juncture as the company pursues its initial public offering.
Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. and its founders Wu Zuyu and Wang Pengcheng have been sued by Zhang Ruiming, the actual controller of Fujian Xinyu Flexible Material Technology Co., Ltd., with total compensation claims reaching approximately 90.38 million yuan. The case has been heard by the Yong'an People's Court in Fujian Province, though no final judgment has been issued yet.
While the financial amount may be manageable for the company, market sensitivity centers not on the compensation figure but on the underlying allegation—whether the company's technology originated from a historical cooperative project.
According to disclosed court documents, Fujian Xinyu is demanding that the three defendants jointly compensate for economic losses of 49.6805 million yuan, plus interest on capital occupation of 40.7048 million yuan, totaling nearly 90.3853 million yuan.
The dispute traces back to a collaboration in 2018. At that time, Fujian Xinyu partnered with Shenzhen Jinmei New Material Technology Co., Ltd. and individual Wu Zuyu to jointly develop a lithium battery materials project. Court documents indicate the project had a total planned investment scale of 600 million yuan.
The cooperation ultimately failed to proceed smoothly. By December 26, 2025, a court had already ruled in a capital contribution dispute that Jinmei Company was liable for breach of contract, ordering it to compensate Zhang Ruiming 10 million yuan plus interest losses.
Why has the lawsuit extended to Hithium Energy Storage, which was established later? The judgment reveals that in March 2018, Fujian Xinyu, Jinmei Company, and individual Wu Zuyu signed a Tripartite Cooperation Contract in the name of Wu's sister-in-law Xu Caixia. The contract stipulated a total project investment of 600 million yuan, with phase one investment at 300 million yuan. The capital contribution ratio was set at 60% for Fujian Xinyu, 30% for Anhui Jinmei, and 10% for Xu Caixia. Fujian Xinyu primarily contributed capital, while Jinmei Company and Xu Caixia mainly contributed technology. Xu Caixia did not provide cash but instead contributed technology as equity for a 10% stake.
Subsequent cooperation progressed poorly. According to the court ruling, Jinmei Company failed to fulfill its capital contribution obligations as agreed, and during the project's advancement, some funds were advanced by Fujian Xinyu. Additionally, Zhang Ruiming assisted disciplinary inspection authorities with investigations starting in 2019, a process that lasted one year and two months.
Based on Fujian Xinyu's claims to the court, during Zhang Ruiming's period of assisting with investigations, the hired project manager Wang Pengcheng and technical core members Wu Zuyu and Pang Wenjie allegedly took the project, technology, and personnel away to Xiamen to establish Hithium Energy Storage, leading to the termination of the original project and making it impossible to establish the joint venture company.
Public information shows that Wu Zuyu is the founder and chairman of Hithium Energy Storage and previously worked at CATL; Wang Pengcheng is the co-founder and general manager and previously served as assistant to the chairman at Fujian Xinyu. Both individuals participated in the 2018 cooperative project.
A core issue in the current dispute is the ownership of technological achievements and team resources formed during the 2018 cooperation period. Public information indicates that after the cooperation agreement was signed in 2018, Fujian Xinyu established an "ECF Project Department" to advance the development of composite current collector-related technology. During the project period, related products were delivered to CATL.
Hithium Energy Storage was also established during the cooperation period. Therefore, Zhang Ruiming's side alleges that lithium battery material technology and team resources developed during the 2018 cooperation were transferred to Hithium Energy Storage, which was established in November 2019, and became core competitive advantages for the latter.
Overlaps in technological direction and intersections in personnel backgrounds make this dispute particularly sensitive in the context of capital markets.
According to Zhang Ruiming's statements, in August 2019, he temporarily left his daily management position due to other matters. However, when he returned at the end of 2020, he discovered that the core team members of the original ECF Project Department, along with more than ten other staff, core technical materials, experimental data, and business secrets had all disappeared.
Additionally, Zhang Ruiming mentioned kinship relationships among relevant personnel. The legal implications of such circumstances currently lack public judicial determination.
It must be emphasized that the above claims represent one party's statements, and specific facts await determination by the court according to law.
From the perspective of the energy storage industry itself, a company's technology is not an accessory but rather an anchor for valuation. If there are disputes over the ownership of core technology, investors' primary concern is not how much compensation might be paid, but rather whether there are risks of unclear technology ownership, potential infringement or trade secret disputes, and whether core products might face sales禁令.
Notably, Hithium Energy Storage is also involved in multiple disputes with CATL. These conflicts largely stem from the collective departure of technical core personnel with CATL backgrounds, including Wu Zuyu.
Public reports indicate that Wu Zuyu worked at CATL from July 2012 to November 2018 and was listed as the first inventor on multiple patents. After leaving, he founded Hithium Energy Storage. Subsequently, disputes arose between the parties regarding non-compete obligations and intellectual property issues.
In June 2025, CATL sued Hithium Energy Storage and Wu Zuyu, among others, for unfair competition, seeking 150 million yuan in compensation and requesting cessation of related infringements. The dispute focuses on technical designs for large-capacity energy storage battery cell products.
Additionally, media reports state that certain management personnel of Hithium Energy Storage have been subjected to criminal compulsory measures for suspected trade secret infringement. Related matters remain in judicial proceedings.
According to publicly disclosed data, Hithium Energy Storage's R&D expense ratio was 4.1% in 2024 and 3.9% in the first half of 2025. As of June 30, 2025, the company had filed 4,336 patent applications globally, with 2,118 authorized. The "match" between R&D investment and patent quantity has also become a topic of external discussion.
Now, the lawsuit from Fujian Xinyu has brought the controversy over Hithium Energy Storage's technology origins back into the spotlight.
When civil disputes, intellectual property litigation, and criminal investigations converge within the same time window, capital markets typically increase risk premiums.
Hithium Energy Storage's development speed can be called a miracle in the energy storage industry. The company reached an annual shipment volume of 35.1GWh within six years of its establishment, once ranking among the top global players in energy storage battery shipments. In the first half of 2025, its industry ranking improved further.
This inherently represents a "dark horse story" favored by capital markets. However, capital markets also adhere to an iron rule: growth can be fast, but ownership rights must be clear.
At this critical IPO stage, a nearly 100 million yuan lawsuit itself might not be a fatal problem; but if the dispute touches upon the origins of core technology, its impact could extend far beyond the financial level. The final outcome still awaits judicial adjudication.
What is certain is that this dispute has added a layer of uncertainty to Hithium Energy Storage's listing process.